Freight train derails in Algeria

A freight train derailed Tuesday in Guelma, 510 km to eastern Algiers, a police source said. No casualties were reported, but 560 tons of phosphate and seven carriages were damaged in the train accident, the sourced added. The train carried 1,709 tons of phosphate, it said, adding that the accident had caused railway traffic chaos as nearly 35 rail meters were affected. It is worth to mention that heavy rains and floods which struck southern Algeria on Oct.29, left eight people dead, including a three-year-old who was swept away by an overflowing river. Selim Semmoudi, a regional official in El Bayadh, 700 kilometres, south of the capital Algiers, told local radio that two others are still considered missing. Rescue workers have found the bodies of three people carried away by an overflowing river, including the three-year-old and two others under-18, Algeria''s civil protection agency said. The heavy rains have battered several areas in southern Algeria, destroying several bridges amid other heavy infrastructural damage. torrential rains hit Algeria of late and caused casualties and damages to several buildings and houses.